AUPP membership is voluntary. It is not a licence, it is not required to pierce in New Zealand, and it does not involve a government inspection of the studio. In Auckland, the credential that is mandatory, enforceable and actually inspected is a council Health Protection Licence — and every legitimate studio in the city holds one, member or not.
That distinction matters, because association membership is increasingly used in New Zealand piercing advertising as a shorthand for safety. This guide sets out what those memberships verify, what they don't, and what to ask instead. I write it as someone who joined AUPP, took it seriously, and then left — so read it with that context, and check the parts you can check.
What is AUPP?
AUPP stands for Australasian United Professional Piercers. It is an industry association for body piercers operating across New Zealand and Australia, incorporated as an Australian company limited by guarantee (ACN 668 050 637). It positions itself as a credentialing and standards body for the piercing industry.
It is a private membership organisation. It is not a government agency, it holds no statutory authority in New Zealand, and it has no power to stop anyone from piercing.
Is AUPP membership required to pierce in New Zealand?
No. New Zealand has no national licensing or registration scheme for individual body piercers — no compulsory training standard, no practising certificate, no register you can look someone up on. Anyone may legally work as a piercer. No association membership is required, and none is a substitute for the regulation that does exist.
This is the genuine gap in the New Zealand market, and it is worth being precise about it: the practitioner is unregulated; the premises are not.
What actually regulates a piercing studio in Auckland?
Auckland Council's Health and Hygiene Bylaw 2013. Any commercial service that pierces the skin requires a Health Protection Licence from the council, and must operate in accordance with the council's Body Piercing Code of Practice.
That code sets minimum standards, including:
- single-use disposable instruments, or instruments that can be reliably sterilised;
- gloves and appropriate protective equipment;
- at least one operator on the premises holding a current first aid certificate.
The Ministry of Health additionally publishes Guidelines for the Safe Piercing of Skin, which set out infection-control expectations. Those guidelines are guidance, not law — the enforceable requirement is the council licence.
So when a studio tells you it is safe, the first verifiable thing is not a membership badge. It is the licence, and you are entitled to ask to see it.
Is AUPP the same as the APP?
No — they are separate organisations, and the acronyms are easy to confuse. The APP is the Association of Professional Piercers, a United States body. AUPP is Australasian. Neither holds statutory authority in New Zealand, and neither membership is required to operate here. A studio may hold both, one, or neither, and that fact alone tells you very little about the work.
Does AUPP membership mean a studio is safe?
Not on its own — and this is the part that most needs saying plainly.
Based on Platinum Point's own 2026 renewal, the AUPP process is a documentary audit. Studios submit supplier invoices, stock details and pricing. That is a review of paperwork. It is not an inspection of the studio, not an observation of technique, not a verification of sterilisation practice, and not a spore-test audit. Nobody visits.
A member studio may be excellent. Many are. But the membership badge is not the evidence of that — it is evidence that documents were filed and a fee was paid. Treating it as a safety credential asks it to carry weight it was never built to carry.
A credential is only as good as the verification behind it. If nothing was inspected, nothing has been verified.
Why is Platinum Point not an AUPP member?
Our membership ended in 2026. During renewal I raised formal written governance questions about conflict of interest — the board includes operators of studios competing with member studios, while the renewal process requires those member studios to hand over commercially sensitive business information. I asked for a conflict of interest policy, evidence of data access controls, and a non-conflicted auditor for our renewal. None was provided. A formal objection and a Privacy Act notice served on 3 March 2026 went unacknowledged for 16 days, during which the grace period lapsed and the membership terminated automatically.
That is a summary. The full account, with dates and the sequence of correspondence, is set out in our statement on the AUPP membership ending.
I am describing a governance structure, not accusing any individual of misconduct. The distinction is deliberate and I hold to it.
What to ask a studio instead
Four questions. All have checkable answers, and a studio working to a real standard will answer them specifically and without hesitation.
- Do you hold a current council Health Protection Licence? This is mandatory. Ask to see it.
- What exactly is the jewellery made of? The answer you want is implant-grade titanium certified to ASTM F136, or solid gold — not "surgical steel", which is not a specification. Ask whether they can show the mill certificate.
- How is sterilisation handled? Which autoclave, and are spore tests run, and how often? "We sterilise everything" is not an answer. A cycle log and a spore-test record are.
- What is your training background, and who taught you? Piercing is an apprenticeship trade. A piercer who takes it seriously will tell you exactly where their training came from.
If those four answers are solid, the studio is operating properly whether or not it belongs to an association. If they are vague, no badge on the window fixes that.
Our position, stated plainly
Platinum Point holds no association memberships. We are not AUPP members and we are not APP members. We hold the council licence that is required of us, and our standards come from elsewhere: implant-grade titanium (ASTM F136) and solid 14ct and 18ct gold for healing piercings, pharmaceutical-grade sterilisation protocols carried over from Thomas's background as a Clinical Trials Aseptic Pharmacy Technician, an anatomy assessment before every placement, and a booked complimentary downsize with every piercing.
We would rather be judged on those specifics than on a logo. Ask us the four questions above. We will answer all of them precisely, and you should hold every studio you consider — including this one — to the same test.
Frequently asked questions
Is AUPP membership required to pierce in New Zealand?
No. It is voluntary. New Zealand has no national licensing scheme for individual piercers. Regulation is by local council bylaw and applies to the premises, not the practitioner.
Is AUPP a government body?
No. AUPP is a private membership association, incorporated in Australia as a company limited by guarantee (ACN 668 050 637). It has no statutory authority in New Zealand.
Does AUPP inspect member studios?
In our experience of the 2026 renewal, no. The process was a documentary audit — supplier invoices, stock details and pricing. No premises inspection took place.
If a studio is not an AUPP member, is it unsafe?
No, and the reverse is equally true: membership does not establish that a studio is safe. Membership status is not a reliable signal in either direction. The council Health Protection Licence, the jewellery specification, and the sterilisation records are the things worth checking.
What is the difference between AUPP and APP?
AUPP (Australasian United Professional Piercers) is an Australian-incorporated body serving Australia and New Zealand. APP (Association of Professional Piercers) is a United States organisation. They are unrelated, and neither is required to pierce in New Zealand.